AllFreeNovel
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She passes her hand, game-show-style over an assortment of food platters on the bar, pausing at the first one.
My eyes widen. “Wow, that is fancy! Although, after the moonshine, I’m not sure my mouth can take any more heat.”
“I also have non-spicy honey ones on this tray.” She gestures to another platter opposite the hot one.
I grab a slice of toast, popping it into my mouth and immediately groaning. “That is delicious!”
“For the record, I also made cheesy toast this afternoon,” Allie holds up a finger, taking another sip of moonshine. “And I ate all of it.”
I almost spit my bite laughing, but I catch it with my napkin. “Give back my special drink. You’re having too much fun.”
She puts the jar in front of me. “I think I’m drunk now.”
“I also have an over-the-top hummus platter with feta, olives, prosciutto, corned beef, and lemons. And all this pita.” She pulls out a plastic bag of round flatbreads.
“Gimmie.” I reach for a cube of feta to pop in my mouth.
“I’m picking up on a goat cheese vibe.” Allie circles her hands over the bar of food, before grabbing one of the hot toasts.
“I made Pizza Rolls!” I hold up a bowl full of little tomatoey squares. “Or Mr. Totino made them. I found a box in the freezer, and Thomas said I could take it.”
“Garrett must’ve left those.” Allie frowns. “There’s no way Craig would eat frozen pizza rolls. Why didn’t we invite Craig?”
“As much as I love my bestie, he’s still a boy.” Dylan takes two more sips of my moonshine and hands it to me again.
I take another long sip and make a sad face. “We killed my special drink.”
“Oh, no, there’s more!” Allie hops over to her bag and pulls out a plastic milk jug full of bright purple liquid. “Knock yourself out!”
We all cheer, and Dylan hops over to the PA system. “We need music!” She presses buttons, and yacht rock fills the empty dining hall.
“Nope!” Allie is off her stool at once. “As much as I love ‘Reminiscing,’ tonight is a party night. We need dance tracks.”
“Take it away, DJ!” Dylan jogs back to where I’m sitting, grinning from a barstool while Allie fires up Charli xcx.
“Sam Allen thought Chappell Roan was Charli xcx.” I am definitely feeling my special moonshine if I’m bringing him up.
“Poor Sam,” Dylan leans closer to me on the bar. “How’s it going with Zane?”
“Stop!” I hold up my hand, closing my eyes. “No boy talk. Tonight is all about having fun!”
“You’re not having fun? But you’ve been so glowy and smiley, I was going to offer to take Edward for a drive.” She waggles her eyebrows.
My lips twist, and she scoops my hand off the bar. “Oh, no! What happened?”
I shrug, not really wanting to talk about Zane. “He shut it all down.”
“What?” Allie skips back to where we’re sitting. “Why?”
“We were very close.” Leaning forward, I meet both their eyes. “All the way close. Then he said everything he touches gets hurt, and he doesn’t want to hurt me, and he wants to keep me safe.”
“Oh my God, if the choice is a bear in the woods or Zane Bradford, give me Zane!” Allie yells. “He’s so good! Have you seen how sweet he is with your brother? And that little Benji kid?”
“Yes, and it’s not good at all,” I argue. “It sucks!”
“It’s a total lie. Zane is completely in love with you.” Dylan cuts her eyes at Allie. “And I know who you’re completely in love with.”
“No!” Allie pinches her arm, which makes Dylan holler.
